IRENE DEATHS: Second Pitt County Death Confirmed

Authorities say a man has been found dead in his Pitt County home after winds from Hurricane Irene toppled a tree onto the house.

Pitt County spokeswoman Kiara Jones said Ayden police found the victim as they checked on residents after the storm passed. She did not release his name or age.

His is the fifth death authorities directly attribute to Irene. A Sampson County mother and a man in Nash County also were killed by falling trees and limbs. A teen in Goldsboro and a man in Pitt County were killed in traffic wrecks.

Also, rescuers in New Hanover County are still looking for a man who fell or jumped Friday night into the Cape Fear River.

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A child died in Goldsboro after the car he and his family members were riding in collided with another vehicle, both of which had went through a stoplight that had been knocked out by the storm, Capt. Anthony Carmon of the Goldsboro Police Department said.

One adult in a car that was carrying a total of three family members died after a tree hit their vehicle as it was traveling down a highway near Clinton, said North Carolina emergency management spokesman Ernie Seneca.

Authorities confirm that one person is dead in an auto accident in Pitt County at Irene struck.

Dispatchers say the accident happened around 7:40 a.m. on County Home Road.

Troopers say 21-year-old Jose Corona was south on County Home and ran off the road, crossed the centerline and ran into a tree.

The Highway Patrol say they are investigating whether alcohol was involved, since alcohol was present on the scene.

In Nash County a man went to feed his animals Saturday morning and was killed when a branch fell on him. WITN spoke to the Nash County Emergency Management and was told more information will be released later in the day Saturday. The man's name is not released.

On Thursday, Onslow County authorities say a man died, apparently from a heart attack, as he was putting up plywood in advance of the storm.

INJURIES:

According to the Associated Press: A New Bern man suffered a head injury after strong winds blew down a large billboard that struck a mobile home where he was working.

Forty-four-year-old Gary Henderson said he was helping a friend move furniture Saturday afternoon when the billboard toppled into three trailers, sending pieces of metal debris flying through the air.

Henderson was treated at the scene by emergency responders and then was taken by his family to a hospital in Havelock for further evaluation.

His friend, Andrew Owens, was not injured.

Henderson said he was surprised to be alive after the incident. The billboard, advertising a local marina, reads: "Anything is possible."

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